What is fueling the luxury market in NYC?

[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan Townhouse Market’s Hot Streak Continues With $57 Million Deal

The Upper East Side mansion, built in the 1870s, sold in an off-market transaction

www.mansionglobal.com

Manhattan Townhouse Market’s Hot Streak Continues With $57 Million Deal​

The Upper East Side mansion, built in the 1870s, sold in an off-market transaction​

A historic townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has sold for roughly $57 million in an off-market deal, according to agents involved with the sale. The deal, which includes the home’s furnishings, is the latest in a string of major townhouse sales in New York City.
According to property records, the seller of the 22-foot-wide townhouse was an entity tied to Felice Lasalvia di Clemente, who has served as an executive in the Italian organic grocery store industry. The entity paid $16 million for the townhouse in 2012, records show. Mr. di Clemente couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The buyer, who was based in South Africa, comes from the finance industry, according to people familiar with the situation.

Loy Carlos of Serhant, who represented the seller alongside brokerage founder Ryan Serhant, said the deal was sourced virtually and initial showings took place over FaceTime. The deal was almost completed before the buyer saw it in person, he said. Agents said the price of the house was in the low-$50 million range, with the furniture adding several million dollars to the deal.

The property was built in 1879 and modified in the Neoclassical style in the 1930s, according to the nonprofit Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. It spans about 9,200 square feet, excluding two floors below street level, with six bedrooms as well as staff rooms, Mr. Carlos said. The move-in ready property was recently gut-renovated and includes a private indoor pool and sauna, he said.
The sellers employed a large number of Italian artisans for the finishes, Mr. Carlos said. Some of the interiors were designed by Achille Salvagni, an Italian architect widely known for designing ultraluxury yachts, he said.

The buyer was represented by Adam Solomon and Assad Masri of Douglas Elliman. The deal, which took a year to complete, was complicated by the fact that the seller didn’t speak much English, and the buyer wanted to wait for the renovation to be completed before closing, they said. “There were a lot of moving parts,” Mr. Masri said.

The deal comes amid a busy period for the luxury New York townhouse market. A Beaux-Arts mansion previously occupied by the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the United Nations sold for $50 million in September. Also last month, real-estate investor Keith Rubenstein sold his Upper East Side townhouse for close to $50 million.
Mr. Serhant said his company is “continuing to see action and traction in the super prime market, despite global economic uncertainty.”

​

 

[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan Luxury Housing Market Perked up Last Week

There were 24 deals signed for homes asking $4 million or more in the week ending Sunday

www.mansionglobal.com

Manhattan Luxury Housing Market Perked up Last Week​

There were 24 deals signed for homes asking $4 million or more in the week ending Sunday​

Contracts were signed on 24 high-end homes in Manhattan last week.

Manhattan’s luxury property market has pulled out of a market slump that extended for three weeks, at least for the moment, according to a report Monday from Olshan Realty.
There were 24 contracts signed on high-end homes—those asking $4 million or more—in the borough during the week ending Sunday. That’s “double the previous week’s total, snapping three straight weeks of a decline in sales,” Donna Olshan, president of Olshan Realty, wrote in the report.
Those 24 deals—comprising 15 condos, five co-ops and four townhouses—were worth a collective $198.3 million. The total was underpinned by six contracts signed on lavish homes priced at more than $10 million, which is the most trophy properties sold since early May when seven changed hands.

The priciest contract signed last week was for a townhouse on West 11th Street in the West Village that was asking $25 million. “It was an off-market deal,” Ms. Olshan wrote, adding that “reliable sources reported that the contract was signed at $23 million.”

The four-story Greek revival-style house spans more than 6,000 square feet and has an elevator and a carriage house in the back. ​

The second most expensive home to find a buyer last week was an Upper East Side duplex condo on East 95th Street that was last asking $23.9 million. The five-bedroom property spans 10,350 square feet and has high ceilings, fireplaces, a formal dining room and a gym.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan’s luxury market ticks up for second straight week

Manhattan’s luxury market hit a peak with signed contracts at their highest since May 9, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report.

therealdeal.com

Manhattan’s luxury market ticks up for second straight week​

Signed contracts hit highest since May after three-week slump​

The Manhattan luxury market found its mojo last week.
The high-dollar sector notched its second straight week of sales growth, with 30 homes going into contract, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report on homes asking $4 million or more. The total marks the highest number since May 9, when 39 contracts were reported.

The most expensive property to enter contract was condo unit DPH 11B at 150 East 78th Street on the Upper East Side. The Robert A.M. Stern-designed unit was asking just under $17 million — an increase over the $16 million the building asked when it started marketing floor plans in January 2021.
The 3,800-square-foot duplex has four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a library that can be used as a fifth bedroom. The library and living room open onto a 277-square-foot terrace.
The penthouse unit is the last apartment to sell in the building, a new 25-unit limestone development. Building amenities include a fitness center, squash court, rooftop terrace and children’s playroom.

The second most expensive home to enter contract was unit 14C at 400 West 12th Street, with an asking price of $16 million. The 3,200-square-foot condo has four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. The living room and primary bedroom have Hudson River views.

The apartment was last purchased for $14.25 million in 2013. Amenities at the building, known as Superior Ink, include a fitness facility, children’s playroom, a concierge and a garage.
The second week of strong sales in Manhattan’s luxury market comes after a three-week slump.
Sales last week totaled more than $211 million, $13 million more than the report’s total from two weeks ago. The median asking price was just under $6 million and homes spent on average 394 days on the market. The average home sold at a 4 percent discount.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Olshan Realty, Inc. | Olshan Luxury Market Report

Report on Contracts Signed Manhattan Residential Properties $4 Million and Above

olshan.com

Olshan Realty, Inc. | Olshan Luxury Market Report​

LUXURY MARKET REPORT 2022
Report on Contracts Signed
Manhattan Residential Properties $4 Million and Above
2022 YEAR END REPORT
Year-to-date, the Manhattan luxury market has turned in a solid performance: 1,304 contracts were signed at $4 million and above, totaling over $10,320,149,800. It was also a year that was front-loaded: 836 contracts were signed in the first half of the year compared with 468 in the 2nd half, as the market deteriorated under the weight of spiking Interest rates and a declining stock market (year-to-date the S&P is down 20%). We now find ourselves navigating a choppy luxury market—some stable weeks and some lousy ones.
As for comparing 2022 results to 2021, I don't think it's a worthy exercise, even though year-over-year metrics are used by the financial markets. To recap, 2020 was a garbage pandemic year and 2021 was just the opposite--a rebound market, thanks to a home-buying spree fueled by low interest rates and a bloated stock market. By mid-2022, the boom cycle was essentially over.
But if you look at the last decade, 2022 falls exactly in the middle of the pack, with a No. 5 ranking. It may not have been as strong as the record-setting 2021 (1877 contracts signed) or the Golden Years in new development--2013-2015---but it did outperform each year from 2016 to 2020.
We'll take it.
I would like to wish all of you Happy Holidays!
.
NYC Luxury Report: Year End 2013-2022
Contracts Signed $4 M and above 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 # of Co-op Contracts
$4 million and above 276 343 133 222 251 252 222 296 282 288# of Condo Contracts
$4 million and above 878 1316 418 595 728 810 751 904 891 905 # of Condop Contracts
$4 million and above 5 6 2 4 10 10 17 14 14 49 Total # of Contracts
Signed on Apartments 1159 1665 553 821 989 1072 990 1214 1187 1242# of Townhouse Contracts
$4 million and above 145 212 92 114 119 100 112 130 153 130 Total # of Contracts Signed
Apartments + Houses 1304 1877 645 935 1108 1172 1102 1344 1340 1372 # of Contracts Purchased
from Sponsors/New Development 459 735 206 278 426 440 435 456 481 475 # of Contracts Signed
Asking $10 million and above 235 400 106 184 207 200 215 227 270 252
END OF THE YEAR 2022 REPORT
2022: 1,304 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2021: 1,877 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2020: 645 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2019: 935 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2018: 1108 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2017: 1172 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2016: 1102 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2015: 1344 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2014: 1340 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties
2013: 1372 Total Contracts Signed on All Properties

NYC Luxury Tracking Scoreboard: Sales $4 Million and Above

	East	West	Midtown	Downtown	Totals	Avg. Co-op Asking	Avg. Condo Asking	Avg. Condo Ask $/ft	Avg. Condo Size
2022 Apartments	274	227	89	569	1,159	$6,643,977	$8,162,310	$2,918/sq.ft.	2,784 sq.ft.
2021 Apartments	451	286	94	834	1,665	$7,209,449	$8,427,318	$2,902/sq.ft.	2,905 sq.ft.
2020 Apartments	135	107	45	266	553	$6,485,039	$8,164,897	$2,733/sq.ft.	2,953 sq.ft.
2019 Apartments	205	165	70	381	821	$6,674,134	$8,092,820	$2,802/sq.ft.	2,874 sq.ft.
2018 Apartments	216	219	115	439	989	$7,356,186	$8,211,488	$2,932/sq.ft.	2,797/sq.ft.
2017 Apartments	252	178	132	510	1,072	$6,665,210	$7,868,236	$2,874/sq.ft.	2,725/sq.ft.
2016 Apartments	195	161	138	496	990	$7,063,249	$8,099,463	$2,929/sq.ft	2,755/sq.ft

	East	West	Midtown	Downtown	Totals	Avg. Townhouse Asking Price	Avg, $/sq.ft.	Avg. Size
2022 Townhouses	33	33	12	67	145	$9,336,024	$1,896/sq.ft.	5,033 sq.ft.
2021 Townhouses	66	48	13	85	212	$10,041,459	$1,823/sq.ft.	5,503sq.ft.
2020 Townhouses	29	18	5	40	92	$9,543,909	$1,619/sq.ft.	5,991sq.ft.
2019 Townhouses	44	20	7	43	114	$11,003,869	$1,801/sq.ft.	6,251sq.ft.
2018 Townhouses	35	25	9	50	119	$10,012,419	$1,797/sq.ft.	5,638 sq.ft.
2017 Townhouses	29	28	11	32	100	$9,559,078	$1,897/sq.ft.	5,208 sq.ft.
2016 Townhouses	32	32	5	43	112	$10,400,788	$1,944/sq.ft	5,531/sq.ft

SUMMARY	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Total Volume:	$10.320,149,800	$15,912,375,308	$5,082,652,981	$7,651,428,687	$9,077,371,226	$9,104,329,032	$8,937,866,862	$10,738,479,892	$11,256,284,299	$10,854,826,824
Average Asking Price on All Properties:	$7,980,111	$8,461,763	$7,934,564	$8,174,955	$8,180,303	$7,761,413	$8,090,435	$7,940,624	$8,140,776	$7,851,594
Median Price on All Properties:	$6,126,317	$6,541,346	$6,663,763	$6,199,375	$6,289,038	$6,149,606	$6,367,820	$6,289,375	$6,440,048	$6,366,072
Average Discount from Original Ask to Last Asking Price	5%	9%	12%	10%	9%	8%	6%	5%	4%	3%
Average Days on The Market:	545	566	586	496	447	433	318	243	181	172

. . .

 

[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan luxury market took terrible turn in 2022

Rising interest rates and falling stocks led luxury Manhattan homebuyers to sign 44 percent fewer contracts in the second half.

therealdeal.com

Manhattan luxury market took terrible turn in 2022​

Luxury contract signings plunged 44 percent after strong first half​

Manhattan’s luxury market had a Jekyll-and-Hyde year, and unfortunately for sellers and agents, it is still in the Mr. Hyde stage.
During the first half of 2022, sellers rode momentum from last year, when low interest rates and pandemic effects sparked a home-buying boom: Buyers signed 836 contracts for Manhattan homes asking $4 million or more.
In the second half, a very different story unfolded. Rising borrowing rates and a declining stock market limited luxury buyers in the borough to 468 contracts — a decline of 44 percent.
“That is a really significant amount,” said Donna Olshan, who tracks luxury contract signings. “We now find ourselves navigating a choppy luxury market.”
Overall, the 1,304 total contracts signed this year amount to a solid performance, ranking fifth in the past 10 years, according to Olshan.

That was greater than every year from 2016 to 2020, but behind a bumper 2021 and what Olshan called the “golden years” of new development, 2013 to 2015.
“We’ll take it,” Olshan said of this year. But she added that the second half of this year points toward a “pretty rough first quarter” of 2023.

Luxury buyers chose Downtown more than the other three Manhattan areas Olshan tracked (East Side, West Side and Midtown) this year, closing on 569 luxury apartments and 67 townhouses there. The next most popular area — the East Side — notched 274 luxury apartment and 33 townhouse sales.

Then again, Downtown had led in sales at least seven straight years, Olshan’s report shows.
Total contract volume, based on asking prices, passed the $10 billion mark. Except for last year’s extraordinary market, that threshold had not been reached since 2015, the peak of the luxury condo boom.
Price-slashing was minimal in 2022, as discounts from the original asking price to the final asking price fell to 5 percent, their lowest level since 2015.
Seasonality exists even at the top of the luxury market: Among the 10 homes that sold for $50 million to $100 million this year, nine changed hands in the first half. In the past decade, only in 2020 and 2021 did the second half of the year outperform the first.

The median sale price of luxury homes fell to its lowest level since 2013, according to Olshan, and the price of townhouses per square foot has changed little since then.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Ending 2022 with a bang.

Manhattan’s luxury contracts hit Christmas week peak

Manhattan’s luxury contracts between Dec. 19 and 25 traded for an average 20% off initial asking, per Olshan Realty.

therealdeal.com

Manhattan’s luxury contracts hit Christmas week peak​

West Village, 1040 Fifth Avenue units tied for top spot with last asking $25M​

Manhattan’s luxury market kept busy this Christmas, with two pre-war homes each asking $25 million claiming top billing.
Buyers signed 26 contracts last week, marking the second-busiest Christmas week in the last decade behind last year’s boom of 42, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report on residences asking $4 million or more. The peak in activity came as the average discount from last asking price was 20 percent, which report author Donna Olshan said was a bellwether for sellers looking to move units.

“Those people willing to meet the market are going to sell,” Olshan said. “Trying to get sellers to face the music will be a challenge in the first quarter.”
The priciest contract was for a duplex apartment on floors nine and ten at 1040 Fifth Avenue, which initially asked $32 million when it hit the market in April 2021.

The 14-room co-op unit includes four bedrooms and six-and-half bathrooms. The apartment needs a complete renovation and the co-op board does not accept mortgage financing.
The 146,000-square-foot building, designed by Rosario Candela, has just 27 apartments across 17 floors.
Sharing the title for priciest was a 4,875-square-foot townhouse at 252 West 12th Street in the West Village. The recently renovated property is 21 feet wide and has five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, multiple balconies and a roof terrace.
The home belonged to oil heiress Aileen Getty before the current seller bought the property for $19 million in 2019. Carl Gambino, a broker with a track record of celebrity deals who moved his New York City office to Compass earlier this year, represented the seller.

A third contract, for unit 8501 at 35 Hudson Yards, was the second priciest last week. The 4,621-square-foot condo was last asking $16.5 million, down from the $27.5 million when it was marketed in 2019 based on floorplans.
Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group is handling sales at the The Related Companies’ building, which has 143 residential units across 92 stories.
Some 15 of the 26 luxury contracts signed last week were for condos, while eight were co-ops and three were townhouses.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Deirdre Imus sells Central Park West penthouse for $9M

Don Imus’ widow Deirdre Imus sold the penthouse at 75 Central Park West for $9 million, six years after asking nearly twice that.

therealdeal.com

Deirdre Imus sells Central Park West penthouse for $9M​

Widow of Don Imus had asked $17M for pre-war co-op in 2016​

A celebrity-owned penthouse at 75 Central Park West has traded at long last, and for almost half of its initial asking price.
Deirdre Imus, an artist, author and widow of controversial radio host Don Imus, sold the couple’s penthouse for $8.8 million, according to property records filed Wednesday, three years and one day after the media personality’s death.
The couple had listed the Lincoln Square property for $16.9 million in 2016 before bouncing it on and off the market as Manhattan’s luxury market waned. They knocked the price down by $2 million one year later, before the widowed Deirdre asked $9.4 million in September 2020.
Sotheby’s International Realty most recently held the listing, according to StreetEasy.
The eight-room unit has three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. A five-room office on the ground floor with lobby and street access was up for grabs along with the property. It wasn’t immediately clear if that was part of the sale.

The wraparound terrace provides panoramic city views of Central Park and the Hudson River. Features of the fully renovated home include a vaulted living room ceiling, wood-burning fireplace and a paneled library.
The apartment building, designed by architect Rosario Candela, was built in 1929 at the corner of West 67th Street. The co-op has 58 units across 15 stories.
The longtime “Imus in the Morning” host and his wife, a frequent guest on the program, pared down their real estate portfolio in the last decade. The couple sold their 3,400-square-foot New Mexico ranch, where they ran a charitable program for ill children, in 2018 for a reported $12.5 million. Don Imus’ final show aired that same year, capping a 50-year career.

The Central Park West listing was not the Imuses’ first experience with aspirational pricing. Eight years after listing a waterfront home in Westport, Connecticut, for $30 million, they sold it for just over $14 million in 2013.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Deep freeze: Luxury home sales suffer biggest hit on record

U.S. luxury home sales dropped 38% year-over-year, per Redfin, led by a 66% drop in deals out of Long Island’s Nassau County.

therealdeal.com

Deep freeze: Luxury home sales suffer biggest hit on record​

Sales dropped 38% YoY, outpacing 31% decline among non-luxury homes​

The U.S. luxury home market saw its biggest drop in sales on record in the three-month period ending in November.
Luxury home sales dropped 38.1 percent year-over-year from September to November, according to Redfin. That’s the largest decline reported by the brokerage in its 10 years tracking the market.

Non-luxury home sales also fell by a record amount, declining 31.4 percent during the same period. Both sectors have faced headwinds like high interest rates and high mortgage rates, as well as fears of a recession.

But luxury homes — defined by the report as those in the top five percent based on market value — are among the first goods to be ditched by owners during difficult economic times. The sagging stock market and the luxury sector’s outsized growth in the wake of the pandemic have also taken the shine out of the market for buyers.

The whole of the U.S. housing market sunk in recent months under elevated borrowing costs amid the Federal Reserve’s efforts to counter inflation. But the Fed appears to have started easing off of big interest rate hikes, with mortgage rates are already falling from highs reached only weeks ago when the average rate pushed past 7 percent.

The rate of price growth in the luxury market is slowing. The median price rose 10 percent year-over-year to $1.1 million, matching the rise for non-luxury homes. In contrast, luxury prices rose 19.9 percent annually for the period ending in April.
Inventory in the luxury market is also less of an issue than it was during the early months of the pandemic. For-sale homes rose 5.2 percent year-over-year, the largest increase in six years. There were 163,000 homes for sale in the luxury market during the three-month period.

Luxury listings, meanwhile, declined 2.9 percent from last year, a significantly smaller drop than that of non-luxury listings.
Long Island’s Nassau County had the biggest annual drop in luxury home sales, down 65.6 percent. A plethora of California metros, including San Jose and Anaheim, also placed in the top five of declining luxury sales, but every market analyzed by Redfin recorded a decline.

San Jose was the only market with a drop in the median sales price of a luxury home, a marginal decline of less than 1 percent. Miami, meanwhile, had the biggest jump at 28.1 percent, followed closely behind by another Florida city, Tampa.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Olshan Luxury Market Report
January 24-30, 2022
29 Contracts Signed

Olshan Realty, Inc. | Olshan Luxury Market Report

olshan.com

Olshan Luxury Market Report
January 23-29, 2023
15 Contracts Signed

Olshan Realty, Inc. | Olshan Luxury Market Report

olshan.com

 

[David Goldsmith]

New York luxury market is world’s third priciest

Activity in New York City’s luxury market dropped in 2022, but the Big Apple topped Knight Frank’s annual wealth report.

therealdeal.com

New York luxury market is world’s third priciest​

Prime sales dropped in 2022, but city topped London and U.S. in post-pandemic rush

New York City’s luxury market was less busy last year than in 2021 but still outpaced all others in the United States and all but two worldwide.

Prices for prime property rose 2.7 percent year-over-year in New York, according to Knight Frank’s annual wealth report with Douglas Elliman. Every 355 square feet of prime property in New York City cost buyers $1 million, beating out London for the third priciest spot behind Monaco and Hong Kong.
New York’s luxury market closely rivaled the English capital’s for volume, notching 244 sales in the super-prime category — defined in the report as $10 million or more — and 43 in the ultra-prime category of $25 million or more.

Los Angeles, Miami and Palm Beach, and Broward County were the other U.S. markets that claimed the most deals in the categories. L.A. had 225 super-prime deals and 39 in the ultra-prime category.
Overall, however, it was a down year for the luxury market compared to the blockbuster 2021.

​

In 2022, there were roughly 1,400 sales of $10 million or more across the 10 global markets the Knight Frank report covered. While that was 49 percent higher than in 2019, it was down 33 percent from the category’s record in 2021, when there were more than 2,000 sales that hit the $10 million threshold.
The research firm said 2023 likely holds a time for normalization as the market comes down to earth from its pandemic-era surge to confront economic headwinds.

“While a slowdown in high-end sales is likely this year, the reopening of China and ongoing appetite for lifestyle-led purchases will support activity,” said Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank.
As for the world’s priciest real estate by foot, New York followed Monaco, where $1 million only netted a buyer approximately 183 square feet, and Hong Kong, where $1 million could purchase 226 square feet of prime property.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Heavily discounted Billionaires’ Row condo tops Manhattan contracts

The priciest home to find a buyer last week in Manhattan was a Midtown condo asking $14.5 million, down from $39 million a few years ago.

therealdeal.com

Heavily discounted Billionaires’ Row condo tops Manhattan contracts​

Price cuts are trending up

The most expensive home to go into contract in Manhattan last week was a Billionaires’ Row condo that finally found a buyer at $25 million off its initial asking price.
The 64th-floor unit in the Park Imperial at 230 West 56th Street, last asking $14.5 million, had been on and off the market since 2015 and was once listed for $39 million, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report of signed contracts for Manhattan homes asking at least $4 million.

The full-floor unit spans nearly 8,000 square feet and has six bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. It offers views in all directions and includes a large entertaining area comprising a living room, formal dining room with space for 12 guests and a sitting room with nearly 100 feet of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park. Amenities in the building include doormen, a fitness center, a residents’ lounge and a terrace.
The second priciest home to go into contract last week was unit 3D at 50 West 66th Street, Extell Development’s new condo tower on the Upper West Side. The 3,900-square-foot apartment was asking $12 million, up from $10.75 million when the developer began marketing floor plans in the tower last summer. The 3,900-square-foot apartment has five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms as well as a living room and family room that open onto an 880-square-foot terrace. Amenities in the building include an indoor lap pool, an outdoor saltwater pool with a jacuzzi, basketball and pickleball courts and a screening room.

Sellers in Manhattan’s luxury market have been offering more discounts to get deals done in recent weeks. The average discount last week was 12 percent, up from 10 percent the week prior. The year-to-date average is now 8 percent, up from 5 percent last year.
Of the 31 units that went into contract last week, 19 were condos, 10 were co-ops, another was a condop and just one was a townhouse. Combined, the 31 units asked $228.5 million, with an average asking price of $7.4 million and a median asking price of $6.5 million. The typical home spent 495 days on the market.

​

 

[David Goldsmith]

Apparently what's currently fueling the luxury market is discounts.

Manhattan’s luxury townhouse market posts strongest week since 2021

Guy Wildenstein’s Sutton Square home asking $29.5 million led the strongest week for luxury townhouse deals in Manhattan since 2021.

therealdeal.com

Manhattan’s luxury townhouse market posts strongest week since 2021​

Buyers signed contracts for 8 townhouses asking $4M or more, led by a Sutton Place home priced at $30M

A pair of East Side townhouses with astronomical asking prices found buyers at the end of March, powering Manhattan’s strongest week for luxury townhouse deals in nearly two years.
The most expensive home to go into contract in the borough last week was a townhouse at 7 Sutton Square asking $29.5 million, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report tracking signed contracts for homes asking $4 million or more.

Situated at the end of a cul-de-sac overlooking the East River, the five-story, Georgian-style mansion is 33-feet wide and spans 9,600 square feet, with five bedrooms, eight bathrooms and an elevator. According to the listing, there’s also a gated driveway, a rooftop terrace with a large seating area and grill, an enclosed “solarium-style wet bar,” staff quarters, bulletproof windows, two kitchens and access to a private garden.
The home was sold by art dealer Guy Wildenstein, who first listed it for $48.5 million in 2016 while facing tax fraud charges in France. He bought the property for $32.5 million in 2008.

Of the 34 Manhattan homes that went into contract above $4 million last week, 23 were condos, eight were townhouses and three were co-ops. That’s the highest number of luxury townhouse deals in a single week since late August 2021, when a record nine contracts were signed.
Some 34 townhouses asking $4 million or more have gone into contract in Manhattan since the start of the year, according to Olshan, matching last year’s output during the same time period.

​

The second most expensive home to find a buyer last week was another townhouse: the five-story home at 14 East 69th Street in Lenox Hill, which was asking $26.5 million, down from $29.8 million when it first hit the market in March 2021.
The sale closed for a mere $18.3 million just days after the contract was signed, records show. The seller, who used an LLC, was in a rush to beat a potential foreclosure, according to Olshan, which reports that five interested buyers were sent contracts requiring cash payments and agreements to waive inspections and allow the seller to stay in possession of the home for 60 days after closing. Two of the buyers responded with bids and deposits.

The five-story, 30-foot-wide townhouse spans 13,000 square feet and has an elevator. The ground floor is medical office space and the second and third floors combine for an owner’s duplex. The top two floors have been turned into four one-bedroom apartments. Annual real estate taxes on the property are roughly $192,000.
Combined, the 34 luxury contracts’ asking prices totaled $262.5 million, with an average asking price of $7.7 million and a median of $6.2 million. The typical home was discounted 11 percent from its initial ask and spent 465 days on the market.

​

 

[David Goldsmith]

Corcoran tops Elliman, Compass for luxury single-family home sales in NYC

Corcoran topped the list for single-family home sales of $5 million or more last year, boosted by its domination of the Brooklyn market.

therealdeal.com

Corcoran tops Elliman, Compass for luxury single-family home sales in NYC​

Brokerage’s strength in Brooklyn was enough to push it to the top of the citywide ranking

New York is a vertical city. The forest of apartment buildings that define its skyline represents the real estate industry’s eternal quest to squeeze the maximum value out of the land by stacking luxury homes as high as air rights will allow.
But even its priciest neighborhoods are still dotted with the rarest of city residences: the high-end single-family home. The buyers of these high-brow low-rises are more rarefied still, and finding those willing to pay the price can be a challenge for any brokerage.

To measure firms’ success in this market segment, The Real Deal drilled down into the dataset of 58,000 deals from our recent ranking of the top brokerages across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens in 2022, but this time looked specifically at single-family residences — including both townhouses and stand-alone homes — that sold last year for $5 million or more.
Manhattan had the most with 145, but Brooklyn boasted 92 such sales — a factor that actually tipped the citywide ranking. Only one house sold in Queens for $5 million or more last year, in an off-market deal.

The Corcoran Group beat runner-up Douglas Elliman in citywide volume, though Elliman sold one more single-family home than Corcoran did. Corcoran closed $325 million across 26 deals for single-family homes that went for $5 million or above. Elliman closed 27 such deals, but they totaled just $297 million in volume.
When isolating Manhattan, however, Elliman was the clear winner. The brokerage sold 19 luxury single-family homes in the borough last year for a total volume of more than $232 million, beating out Corcoran’s 13 deals that totaled a little over $204 million in volume.
It was Corcoran’s domination of Brooklyn’s high-end single-family market that secured its top spot in the citywide ranking. Pam Liebman’s agents sold 13 homes in the borough last year for $5 million or more, versus Elliman’s eight. Corcoran also achieved nearly double the volume, nearly $121 million versus Elliman’s tally of about $64 million.
Compass came in third in the citywide ranking, closing 22 deals for a total volume of nearly $210 million, and it also placed third in Manhattan with 17 closings totalling over $176 million.
But in Brooklyn, Robert Reffkin’s firm was fourth behind luxury townhouse specialist Leslie J. Garfield, which closed seven deals totaling nearly $63 million in volume. Compass posted barely more than half that volume in Brooklyn, sealing five deals worth a total of $33 million.

Leslie J. Garfield’s performance in Brooklyn was enough to secure the fourth spot in the citywide ranking, with 22 deals worth nearly $200 million, besting fifth-ranked Brown Harris Stevens’ tally of 12 deals totalling nearly $154 million. BHS did, however, snag the No. 4 spot in Manhattan.

Corcoran closed the deal for the city’s most expensive single-family home last year: a 13,000-square-foot townhouse at 12 East 63rd Street in Lenox Hill that went for $56 million in February.
Ryan Serhant’s brokerage sold three single-family homes for $5 million or more in 2022, but one of them was the second most expensive deal of the year. The 22-foot-wide townhouse at 36 East 68th Street itself sold for nearly $53 million, but the buyer also purchased all the furniture inside, hiking the deal's total price tag to almost $57 million.
Elliman sold the third most expensive single-family home last year, a 20,000-square-foot Beaux-Arts property on Fifth Avenue once called Manhattan’s “last intact Gilded Age Mansion,” which went sold for $50 million in an all-cash deal.
The Modlin Group sold the fourth priciest single-family home, a townhouse at 8 East 62nd Street that Somerset Partners’ Keith Rubenstein had been trying to sell off and on since 2016. It finally found a buyer last year for $48 million.
Brown Harris Stevens helped Chipotle founder Steve Ells flip a West Village townhouse in the firth most expensive sale last year. Ells sold the property at 27 East 11th Street for $35 million last June — a nearly 19 percent premium over the $29.5 million he paid for it just eight months earlier.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Seller coming down to earth at Macklowe supertall

The owner of an apartment on the 79th floor reduced the price to $92 million after two years on the market at $135 million.

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Seller coming down to earth at Macklowe supertall​

Discounts price 32% at 432 Park Ave — but it’s still $92M

For sale: a minimalist apartment at a still-maximalist price.
An artsy American couple have slashed the asking price of their condo unit on the 79th floor of 432 Park Avenue to $92 million, down from $135 million when it listed in September 2021.

The sparse interior, which spans 8,000 square feet, features a tea room and bonsai plant sculpture designed by Japanese architect and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.
The next owners are not likely to keep the traditional Japanese aesthetic, although the odds that they do might be increasing.

“This reduction in price will bring in a greater pool of potential buyers,” said Engel & Volkers agent Noel Berk. “There are more international travelers coming to New York to buy, including Asian buyers who were not allowed to travel during Covid.”
The owners have tried selling their posh pad for more than two years, first with a whisper listing. When no buyers emerged, the condo listed with an eight-figure price tag. In addition to its purchase price, the apartment costs about $38,500 per month including real estate taxes and maintenance costs.
The full-floor apartment has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, two powder rooms and 24 windows, and comes with two studio units on a lower floor that combine for an additional 1,000 square feet.

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The studios can be combined and used to house staff, a library, guests or a college student, said Berk. The brokerage Engel & Volkers focuses largely on European real estate markets.

The current owners of the apartment bought the posh pad in 2016 for $59 million.
Perhaps hampering the attempted 2021 sale of the upper-floor apartment was a lawsuit filed by the building’s condo board against developers CIM and Macklowe Properties alleging flooding, noise from building sway and an electrical explosion.
CIM called the suit “ill-advised” and dismissed it as a “publicity campaign.”
Other owners in the building have relisted their units.
The owner of a two-bedroom on the 84th floor is trying again to sell for $18 million, having paid $21.4 million in 2016, Crain’s reported. Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Alhokair is attempting to resell the top-floor apartment after reconsidering his $170 million price tag.

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[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan luxury contracts post banner week

Manhattan’s luxury market counted more signed contracts last week than any week since May 2022, according to Olshan Realty.

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Manhattan luxury contracts post banner week​

Highest weekly number of signed deals for properties asking $4M+ since May 2022

Manhattan’s luxury market just had its busiest week in a year.
Forty contracts were signed for homes asking $4 million or more, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report. The total is 10 more than the week prior and the highest since the first week of May 2022.

Sixteen sponsor units in the luxury category went into contract, the highest single-week total in a year for the property type.
The most expensive was 36D at 15 Central Park West, with an asking price of $26.5 million, down from $28 million when it was listed in October.

The 3,100-square-foot condo has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, as well as a 530-square-foot great room and library overlooking Central Park. The seller bought the apartment in 2008 from the sponsor for $11.4 million.
It’s the fifth time 15 Central Park West has been featured in the Olshan’s weekly report since the beginning of last year.
Amenities at the building, designed by Robert A.M. Stern, include a 14,000-square-foot fitness center with a 75-foot pool, a private restaurant for residents, a landscaped motor court and garage, a library and an outdoor terrace.

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The second most expensive unit to enter contract last week was PHA at 150 Barrow Street, with an asking price of $17.5 million.

The condo duplex spans 4,300 square feet and has four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. The upstairs has a great room and kitchen surrounded by a 2,000-square-foot terrace. The bedrooms, living room and a kitchenette are downstairs.
The apartment is in a new boutique building called The Keller — a seven-story, 24-unit former hotel. Four units went into contract asking $4 million or more last week, with prices averaging over $3,600 per square foot. Amenities include a doorman, fitness center, a resident’s lounge and a landscaped courtyard with a kitchenette and barbecue.
Of the 40 luxury Manhattan units that went into contract last week, 29 were condos, five were co-ops, four were townhouses and two were condops.
The asking prices totaled $300 million, an average of $7.5 million. The median asking price was $5.9 million. The typical home’s asking price was discounted 7 percent and spent 628 days on the market.

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[David Goldsmith]

Soho co-op sells for less than half its initial $22.5M ask

A four-bedroom apartment at 88 Prince Street that sold for $8.9 million shows why large Manhattan co-ops may not be the most reliable investment.

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Soho co-op sells for less than half its initial $22.5M ask​

Prince Street penthouse’s journey reflects cooling demand for large co-ops in recent years
A princely Soho penthouse has found a buyer at last — after the sellers knocked more than $12 million off its asking price.
The four-bedroom co-op atop 88 Prince Street closed for $8.9 million on Tuesday, selling below its $10 million asking price and for less than half of the $22.5 million the sellers sought when they first listed it in 2017. It had been floating on and off the market each year since.

Compass’ Philip Scheinfeld had the most recent listing, which hit the market in October.
Scheinfeld said the sellers, who had relisted the co-op for $18 million in 2018 and $14.9 million in 2020, relented when he told them that it “needed to be under $10 million.” They bought it in 2008 for $5.8 million.

The combo apartment spans 4,500 square feet with over 1,300 square feet of outdoor space, including a roof and multiple balconies, plus a private elevator. A gut renovation by the sellers added a floating staircase and textured floors in the primary bedroom designed to massage the occupant’s feet.
Those upgrades were not enough to draw the sky-high asking price the owners sought, putting the co-op in line with other larger units that have struggled to appreciate in value in recent years.

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Four-bedroom condos and co-ops in Manhattan have actually seen their average sale prices decline significantly over the past decade on a per-square-foot basis, according to a report compiled for Douglas Elliman by Jonathan Miller.
The average price per square foot of a four-bedroom co-op in Soho fell from $2,074 in 2013 to $1,960 last year. Pricing peaked in 2017 at $2,203 a square foot.

Miller attributes the lack of appreciation to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which capped the amount homeowners could deduct from their property tax at $10,000 and made owning high-end homes in high-tax states like New York more expensive.
“I would characterize the pandemic era as largely moving sideways,” Miller said. “I don’t think it’s a factor of being downtown. Other markets have done very well downtown.”

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[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan Townhouse Market’s Hot Streak Continues With $57 Million Deal

The Upper East Side mansion, built in the 1870s, sold in an off-market transaction

www.mansionglobal.com

Manhattan Townhouse Market’s Hot Streak Continues With $57 Million Deal​

The Upper East Side mansion, built in the 1870s, sold in an off-market transaction​

A historic townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has sold for roughly $57 million in an off-market deal, according to agents involved with the sale. The deal, which includes the home’s furnishings, is the latest in a string of major townhouse sales in New York City.
According to property records, the seller of the 22-foot-wide townhouse was an entity tied to Felice Lasalvia di Clemente, who has served as an executive in the Italian organic grocery store industry. The entity paid $16 million for the townhouse in 2012, records show. Mr. di Clemente couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The buyer, who was based in South Africa, comes from the finance industry, according to people familiar with the situation.

Loy Carlos of Serhant, who represented the seller alongside brokerage founder Ryan Serhant, said the deal was sourced virtually and initial showings took place over FaceTime. The deal was almost completed before the buyer saw it in person, he said. Agents said the price of the house was in the low-$50 million range, with the furniture adding several million dollars to the deal.

The property was built in 1879 and modified in the Neoclassical style in the 1930s, according to the nonprofit Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. It spans about 9,200 square feet, excluding two floors below street level, with six bedrooms as well as staff rooms, Mr. Carlos said. The move-in ready property was recently gut-renovated and includes a private indoor pool and sauna, he said.
The sellers employed a large number of Italian artisans for the finishes, Mr. Carlos said. Some of the interiors were designed by Achille Salvagni, an Italian architect widely known for designing ultraluxury yachts, he said.

The buyer was represented by Adam Solomon and Assad Masri of Douglas Elliman. The deal, which took a year to complete, was complicated by the fact that the seller didn’t speak much English, and the buyer wanted to wait for the renovation to be completed before closing, they said. “There were a lot of moving parts,” Mr. Masri said.

The deal comes amid a busy period for the luxury New York townhouse market. A Beaux-Arts mansion previously occupied by the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the United Nations sold for $50 million in September. Also last month, real-estate investor Keith Rubenstein sold his Upper East Side townhouse for close to $50 million.
Mr. Serhant said his company is “continuing to see action and traction in the super prime market, despite global economic uncertainty.”

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A big change in the influence of townhomes in the luxury market.

Townhouses drop from Manhattan luxury contracts

Manhattan luxury contracts came back from a mid-May slump, but townhouse signed contracts dropped to zero.

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Townhouses drop from Manhattan luxury contracts​

Property type’s streak continues to cool despite market’s rise from mid-May slump

Activity in Manhattan’s luxury market ticked back up toward normal last week, but some of the borough’s property types fared far better than others.
The borough saw 32 homes asking $4 million or more enter contract, according to Olshan Realty. Of those, 21 were for condos, 11 for co-ops — their best week since the end of April 2022 — and none for townhouses.

The dearth of sales for townhouses marks a sharp dive from April, when eight contracts marked the property type’s strongest week in nearly two years, and red-hot activity recorded in May 2022.
The townhouse market was more resistant to headwinds last year because of the larger contingency of all-cash buyers. But sales volume last quarter fell 30 percent, according to townhouse brokerage Leslie Garfield, due to the expectation gap between buyers and sellers: Buyers expect steep discounts while sellers are holding out for top dollar.

The most expensive home to enter contract last week in Manhattan was unit PH35A at 500 West 18th Street, asking of $30 million.
The 5,800-square-foot penthouse was initially listed for $34 million in 2018 when the building started marketing. The unit has five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, as well as a 1,300-square-foot great room that opens onto a 322-square-foot loggia.
Formerly known as the Xi, One High Line is a project with a condo building and hotel that landed in a $1 billion-plus foreclosure two years ago. Amenities include a fitness center, a 75-foot lap pool, a spa, a golf simulator, private dining and a games lounge. Services are offered from the adjacent Faena Hotel, part of the re-branded project.

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The second most expensive home to enter contract last week was unit 10/11C at 740 Park Avenue, with an asking price of $23.8 million, down from $26 million when it was listed last August. The duplex co-op has 11.5-foot ceilings and a 720-square-foot living room with a fireplace that opens onto a library.

If the sale goes through, it’ll mark the end of retired semiconductor executive Hamburg Tang’s tenure in the building. Tang, who bought the co-op in 1995 for $7 million, had been involved in a lawsuit with his neighbor over noise from renovations to Marks’ unit, which is directly above Tang’s.
Tang accused billionaire Howard Marks of working beyond the hours allowed by the building and blamed the co-op board for not enforcing them, ultimately convincing a judge to limit the time per day Marks could renovate.
Amenities at the building, which doesn’t allow financing, include a doorman, gym and storage.
The asking prices of the 32 homes totaled $273 million, with an average of $8.5 million and a median price of $6.3 million. The typical home received a 9 percent discount and spent 630 days on the market.

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[David Goldsmith]

In the luxury market, which the report defines as the top 10 percent of sales, the number of sales dropped 40 percent annually, from 386 to 233. The median sales price rose 4 percent year-over-year to $6.7 million, up from $6.5 million.

Manhattan’s apartment market nears end of pandemic warp

High mortgage rates and high prices kept activity in Manhattan’s apartment market on the comedown in the second quarter.

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Manhattan’s apartment market nears end of pandemic warp
Cash deals claim record as prices remain high and sales drop

High mortgage rates crowned cash king and cooled prices last quarter in Manhattan’s residential market.
Elevated borrowing costs fueled cash purchases in the borough and reduced financed purchases to a record low, according to a quarterly report by Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman. Almost two thirds of all closings in the second quarter were cash deals.

Cash purchases fell 29 percent on an annual basis, but rose 22 percent from the previous quarter. Higher rates have taken a sizable bite out of financed purchases in the last year, which dropped 52 percent annually and 18 percent since the first quarter.
Elsewhere in the market, the second quarter saw balance return as the pandemic-era sales surge drifts further into the rear view.

The median sales price across the borough’s condos and co-ops fell for the third straight quarter, but remains the third highest on record. Last year’s second quarter median sales price was the highest in Manhattan’s history.
The borough’s apartment market is beginning to emerge from the “Fed rate-fueled frenzy” of 2022, according to report author Jonathan Miller.
“Over the next quarter or so, the year-over-year comparisons won’t be so skewed against that,” Miller said.
The median sales price last quarter was $1.2 million, down 4 percent from $1.25 million a year earlier.
Though price comparisons are starting to even out, the number of sales last quarter remains considerably lower than that of the second quarter last year. The number of sales fell to 2,325, down from 3,834.

“On a sales basis, we’re still comparing to the year-ago rocket shop,” Miller said.
The number of homes on the market is still “chronically low,” Miller said. Listing inventory dropped 3 percent year-over-year to just under 7,000 active units, but rose 10 percent from the first quarter.
Sellers remain reluctant to put their homes on the market because they don’t want to give up low mortgage rates secured during the pandemic.
“Everyone is playing a waiting game,” Miller said, adding that low inventory levels are keeping prices high in the borough.

In the luxury market, which the report defines as the top 10 percent of sales, the number of sales dropped 40 percent annually, from 386 to 233. The median sales price rose 4 percent year-over-year to $6.7 million, up from $6.5 million.
Listing inventory in the luxury market declined by 8 percent, from 1,420 in the second quarter last year to 1,301. With few listings, nearly 8 percent of luxury closings resulted in a bidding war, the third highest market share on record.

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[David Goldsmith]

Penthouse in Witkoff’s 150 Charles sells for $11K psf

A penthouse in Steve Witkoff’s 150 Charles Street in the West Village sold for $52 million, or $11,000 per square foot.

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Penthouse in Witkoff’s 150 Charles sells for $11K psf
Unknown buyer paid $52M seven years after unit traded for $29M

A penthouse at Steve Witkoff’s 150 Charles Street traded for a whopping $52 million, or more than $11,500 per square foot.
An unknown buyer scooped up the West Village condo in an off-market deal, according to public records. The Wall Street Journal first reported the seller was a company linked to Credit Suisse executive Robert Shafir, who purchased the 4,500-square-foot apartment for $29 million in 2016.

Attorney James Carolan is listed as the manager of the anonymous LLC.
The unit underwent an extensive renovation since it last traded, said Douglas Elliman’s Raphael De Niro, whose team represented the developer in the 2016 sale. An old listing for the property describes it as having five bedrooms and 2,500 square feet of outdoor space.

Corcoran’s Richard Ziegelasch represented the seller in the deal, and Corcoran’s Deborah Kern represented the buyer. Both brokers declined to comment.
The 91-unit building has a track record of housing big names in real estate, finance and entertainment. Some of the condo’s buyers have included Ben Stiller, Jon Bon Jovi, Irina Shayk and Douglas Elliman’s John Gomes.

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Among the amenities at the 15-story condo are a motor court, parking garage, pool, sauna, steam room and fitness center.
The Witkoff Group launched sales at the building in 2013. Two years later, the developer began allowing buyers to flip their contracts for a 10 percent cut of the sales.

Witkoff also shelled out about $47 million in 2016 to purchase four units in the building, including a 4,600-square-foot penthouse.
The sale of Unit PHA is the latest in a series of eye-popping deals in downtown Manhattan. A penthouse at Witkoff and Len Blavatnik’s Chelsea development, One High Line, entered contract after asking $52 million. A penthouse at 151 Wooster Street also nabbed a deal for $50 million, or $5,000 per square foot, earlier this month.

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[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan luxury contracts drag through July

Manhattan’s luxury market saw 22 signed contracts, topped by an Upper East Side townhouse and Macklowe’s 737 Park Avenue.

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Manhattan luxury contracts drag through July​

Twenty-two contracts led by loss at Macklowe’s 737 Park Avenue

Manhattan’s luxury market held steady in terms of signed contracts last week, but lost a little shine in terms of its bottom line.
The combined volume of contracts signed between July 17 and 23 fell nearly $90 million from the previous period, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report on homes asking $4 million or more. The second week of July marked a rush of activity for trophy properties, when 10 homes asking $10 million or more went into contract.

The number of contracts dipped to 22 from 24 recorded the previous week.
The top contract last week was a townhouse at 129 East 73rd Street asking $27.5 million.

The 22-foot-wide home, which spans roughly 12,000 square feet, listed in May. The owner bought it for $8.8 million in 2003 before renovating it in the following years. Annual real estate taxes are just under $187,000.
The home has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, eight fireplaces and three terraces. The top floor has a basketball court with a skylight that opens onto a rooftop terrace with a hot tub.

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The second most expensive contract was for Unit 16E at Macklowe Properties’ and CIM Group’s 737 Park Avenue.
The unit asked $11.9 million, down from just under $13 million when it listed at the end of October. The seller bought the apartment for nearly $17.4 million in 2014 from sponsor Harry Macklowe.

The condo spans nearly 3,900 square feet and has four bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and a private elevator landing. The unit faces 71st Street and has a 360-square-foot terrace off the primary bedroom.
Of the 22 homes that entered contract last week, 13 were condos, five were co-ops, three were townhouses and one was a condop.
The homes’ combined volume was $162.4 million. The average asking price was $7.4 million and the median asking price was $5.8 million. The typical home spent 662 days on the market and received a 2 percent discount.

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